Rise of the Darkness
by Rexness613
Summary: Anikans gone missing and its Obiwan and Snips to the rescue, but what happens when they get a galaxy more than they bargained for. OCS, possible parings, and T warning. Chap.16: "It's your choice." He closed his eyes. It wasn't a choice at all.
1. Epilogue

**A/N: OH HAI first Clone Wars ficcie. In case you haven't notice Anikans in it XP . Enjoy and Review. I have**

**cookies...**

**EDIT 4/15/13 : I'm rewriting some parts of this. If things change or read different thats why. READ ON.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything from the Star Wars franchise, but I do own several OCS who will appear**

**later and the main baddies that are in here. YUP THATS RIGHT Seppies have nothing to do with it.**

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><p><strong>Rain<strong>

He ran. Lighting striking all around him. The sound of thunder almost deafening. His men were gone. Half of them lay around him dead. The rest taken captive, including Rex. This was what he got for straying out of his galaxy. Death, captivity, pain, and now he was lost running from unfamiliar enemies in a landscape he'd never seen before. He screamed as a blow from a shield hit him in the side of the face. A boot collided with his back as he came crashing down. His eyes widened and he stared up into the cruel, filthy, cackling face of his captor. He could do nothing but gape at the face. Half of it was _missing,_ replaced by metal.

"Who are you? You aren't Separatists. What do you want with me and my men? What did you do with Rex?" Anikan said, barely managing to keep from screaming. He'd been captured before, he'd faced enemies, but he had never met or seen anyone or anything with this much power. Their ship had been _three times the size of the Malevolence. _Their leader had commanded them not caring if they lost their lives or not. Their wounds had simply been sowed together. If they had lost anything, it was replaced by metal, except in the case of full arms and legs, then they were just shot. At least that was what he had _seen_ on the battlefield that day.

"Who are we, we are your nightmare. Whadda we want? Soldiers and slaves. Rec? I have no idea." He said all this with a cruel grin, his single yellow eye gleaming down at the Jedi. He now returned to cackling while the downed Jedi glared at him with pure, unadulterated anger as he was bound then flung at a near by ship. Anikan looked up at the moon wistfully, knowing that this might be the last time he saw light as he was dragged bound into a form of carrier.


	2. Setting Off

**Setting Off**

She stood on the edge of the platform ready for another adventure. Skyguy had gotten into another mess and as usual, it was her and Master Kenobi's job to get him out again. Geez how many times a week did she have

to get him out of these situations. She gave off a small giggle.

"Here we go again." She said softly, to no one in particular.

"Are you ready to go commander?" said a voice behind her. She turned to see Commander Cody.

"Totally. So what do you think he did to himself this time? Captured?" said Ahsoka smiling.

"Wouldn't know sir, I'd say the battle went array and he got himself into some sort of scrap." He said putting his helmet on in the process. They headed toward the gunship where Luminara and Obi-wan were waiting for them. After a courteous "The Force be with you" they headed off.

"Master, do you think Skyguy is alright?" she said looking just a tad worried.

"Knowing Anikan he's gotten himself into another spot but he'll be fine." replied the older Jedi. Though he couldn't help wonder what Anikan had done this time. He sighed, laughing softly. That boy would be the death of him yet.


	3. Are We There Yet?

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, business and writers block. Anyways heres todays climax. Enjoy**

**Disclaimer: I do not own StarWars the CloneWars**

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><p><strong>Are We There Yet?<strong>

It must have been for the thousandth time but it came chiming in again from the copilot's seat.

"Are we there yet?" it was Ahsoka asking for the thousandth time, the same question she had been asking for 4

hours now. They had left the cruiser to go to the different place Anikan had been. Unfortunately, each time they

were referred somewhere completely different, and Obi-wan was beginning to lose patience with the situation.

Especially since they were with a group of about 12 rookies who knew about what they were doing, but had little

experience doing it, and kept arguing about doing it.

"No, Ahsoka. We aren't." he was working hard to keep from screaming at the once again bickering rookies, and

Ahsoka.

"Oh. How close are we?" prodded the young padawan boredly

"We'll be there soon." Speaking in a way which could be defined as: _Stop asking while my sanity is still in tact or _

_else I'll turn this ship back toward Coruscant OK?_ At this point, everyone stared at him for a moment and then

quietly returned to what they were doing, this time being silent so as not to reincur the wrath of jedi. They went

on like this for about an hour with everyone doing their own thing, and being very careful not to anger Obi-wan

until, eventually, they changed pilots. Finally, and not soon enough for the entirety he heard the blessed words.

"Sir, we've arrived." Said one of the young recruits.

"FINAL- erm I mean alright I'll be out in a moment." Replied the jedi quickly leaping off his bed and rushing

through the hall, somehow managing to make it to the cockpit before the younger clone. He paused looking out

the window. Tatooine, it was the third planet they had visited, but something was wrong. They saw Anikan's

ship, but they weren't getting any readings from it. No life forms. No damage report. No transmission. Nothing.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" it was Ahsoka.

"I don't know, but I have it too." Was all the older could say. He could sense something in the force but he

couldn't pin point what it was. Without warning the mystery ships engine fired and it started turning and…

LEAVING!

"Follow it! There is something wrong here and I intend to know what." So after contacting their own ship they

followed. What happened next didn't make since. The ship was flying away but didn't engage hyperspace. Once

it got to a certain point it stopped. It was as if it were waiting for something. But what?


	4. Swept Away

**A/N: WOW...such a very short chapter... LOLz I guess it doesn't matter since the nect up date is like SUPER **

**soon. Enjoy ;3 . Constructive criticism is welcome if done through a review (HINT HINt ;3 ) so yes, reviews are welcome (BIGGER HINT XP ) .**

**Disclaimer: I don't own StarWars The CloneWars.**

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><p><strong>Swept Away<strong>

When their ship got their, they found out what the mystery ship was waiting on. The ship wasn't even a republic

cruiser. The real thing had been cloaked. What they now saw was a ship, bigger than anything they'd ever seen.

They wouldn't win this, how could they. The ship fired once on the cruiser, disabled it in one shot, got it in a

tractorbeam, and went to hyperspace. Unfortunately, the force of take off took _The_ _Twilight _with it. The last thing

anyone saw was light spreading out over the horizon, then, blacked out.


	5. Where Are We?

**A/N: Hmmmmmm... this chap turned out dark, not at first but... hmmm... I introduce the baddie hq in **

**this, its at a fanon world 83. ****Reviews will tell how I did so ****review, constuctive criticism is needed. sorry I **

**didn't ****update like I said... ;( about ****100 things got in ****the way... I'll try to do better.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own StarWars TCW. BUT I do own Karakotea.**

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><p><strong>Where Is Here?<strong>

It had been several hours since some of them had woken up and for now they had to tend to there wounds,

but there were several problems at this moment. One, they needed better medicine than they had, two, they

still didn't know where they were and three, half of them had yet to wake up so they were stuck debating on

whether to take a chance and approach a ship, or to go to the planet and brace themselves for whatever they

might face there. So basically they had two options, big scary ships, or big scary planet. Amongst those awake

they decided the planet, by three votes ship versus four planet. The question was how to get there. With all

the large ships ignoring them for now, would they still ignore them if they approached the planet? Would they

just shot them? What if they decided they just didn't like outsiders? With all this in consideration, they still were

left trying to take everything in, take another step, and answer their biggest questions. Where are we? And

Where is home?

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><p><em>Mid galaxy: Karakotae 3: Detention area: Torture Room<em>

_Heat. Heart. Pounding. Pounding. Pounding. Head. Pounding. Pounding. Where. Here. Where is here. Head is _

_pounding. __Blood. Pouring. Whos'. Mine. Heart is pounding. Pain. Pain. Pain._

_These were all he could think as he stared at the floor blood pouring off collecting into a scowling, swirling, menacing _

_pool of malevolent red. He couldn't scream, the last time he had it had seared his lungs and nearly torn open his _

_throat, no one would help. He couldn't move if he wanted._

_"__**Obi-wan… they said you're not gonna come, I know otherwise.**__" The voice which said this was hoarse, _

_creacky, and came from a mouth which could have belonged to any of the prisoners there. The blue eyes looked, _

_forcing the bruised bones of the bruised head to turn his blank face, at the chains which held him. Then over once _

_more __into hazel nut eyes which pleaded at him, at mouth which moved endlessly, at tears which rolled down a pained _

_face._

_**"What's wrong, do you need something, can I please help you?"**__ the voice was hollow with blank _

_unrecognition, same __way the face was. The hazel eyes closed and the head which held them shook and once again _

_the mouth moved, but __he heard nothing. He repeated what he said, really wanting too voice his wish to help, but _

_again his voice was flat. As the mouth continued mouthe the words it wanted to say he still heard nothing. More _

_thoughts flooded his __tortured head._

_Who. Me. who is me. Me…is… is… Who are YOU._


	6. Serendipity

**A/N: Sorry, had writers block. So far I have more reviews than expected :) reveiws make me happy. I finally managed this scence... though it kinda is lacking in... wel... everything. Its not that good but its my best. Try to review since this is my first CloneWars story, I'd appreciate it.**

**Thank you notes:**

**Thank you all of my readers who drive my story :D.**

**Thanks to Amy Whitespot, WaNderiNgDovE, and annie for reviewing. Your reviews are an encouragement.**

**Thanks to bwats1239 for favoriting my story.**

**Thanks again to Amy Whitespot and WaNderiNgDovE for alerting.**

**Thanks to tarooso for alerting.**

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><p><strong>Seren<strong>**dipity**

They had landed on a long stretch of grassy ground which stretched for as far as the eye could see. Even from

above it had covered a nice patch of ground. From the outside, they could see just how badly the ship had been

jostled by the journey. A couple of the rookies had woken up but the general was still out and from the looks of

it, hurt bad. Cody sighed, if there had been so many ships up there then why couldn't he see anyone down here,

everywhere he looked all he saw was grass, grass and more grass. Commander Ahsoka had gone with two of

the rookies to look for signs of life in the immediate area. Something told Cody they wouldn't find anything. He

looked around listening, just realizing how beautiful this planet was, it was like a picture. Everywhere, the grass

swayed gently dancing so happily in the breeze, birds could be seen and heard singing their joyful songs, the

hills lazily rolled into each other easily swallowing the valleys between them, the sweet scent of flowers could be

smelled, but it was so faint, and the flowers couldn't be seen, but it was obvious there was a whole field of them

somewhere, off in the distance, just over the horizon.

"Wonder what this place is called" he thought to himself a bit sleepily. He heaved a lonely sigh and headed back

toward the camp to see how everyone was holding up. He looked around at the rookies which were with them

wondering if they were as lonely as he was. He walked over to his Commander who looked like she due with

some help.

"So, how are things here?" he inquired as casually as possible, though he was feeling anything but at the

moment. Asoka sighed.

"Not good. This thing probably won't fly without MAJOR repairs… something we don't have and probably can't

afford. Master Kenobi is still out but I think he'll be okay." She tiredly replied, panting as she did so.

"You want me to take over for a while Commander." He said in a voice which suggested that what he was saying

was more than a suggestion. She looked in his eyes, ready and raring to argue, but then sighed, knowing he

was right. However, it was more her tiredness than his persuasion that told her he was right.

"Sure, I'll go check on Master Kenobi then rest for a while." She sighed getting up and walking a away, Cody

giving her a quick nod as she went. He looked back over at what she had been working on and began to frown

deeply. It was bad. It was very bad. It had been a while since the _Twilight _had been in this shape. He started

trying to work on it but quickly began to figure out he wasn't going to be able to fix this with what little material

they had.

After a while, he quite turning and resting his back and shoulders against the ship heaving a heavy sigh. He took

a moment closing his eyes, allowing everything to sink in, and then reopening wondering where there ship had

been taken. Rex, Anikan, almost all of his brothers had been taken. Where were his brothers at now? He gave a

dark chuckle allowing his head to flop down onto his chest, hadn't he wondered that before. Then again, he

doubted anything had ever been on this extreme of a scale. Looking back up he noticed something, the first star

peeking out at him. He heard a rustling somewhere behind him and looked over at whatever was coming. It

wasn't anyone he knew. His hand automatically went for his gun as he grabbed it instinctively turning around.

"Easy there tiger."


	7. Best Case Scenario

**A/N:** **SOOOOOOOO SORRY I meant to update but then my messed up computer, writers block, school, homework, and a bad memory got in the way. I'll try to do better I swear DX IT WAS A WORST CASE SCENARIO! Hope you like the **

**chapter even though its short... Tried my best :( Gonna work on the next one right away.**

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><p><strong>Best Case Scenario<strong>

When Cody looked at who was in front of himself it was a girl, about 20, with long red hair and green eyes wearing some simple farm clothes.

"I came over to see if everything was ok." She said looking over his shoulders toward the camp. Cody paused for a moment before turning his head.

"Commander!" he yelled before immediately snapping his head back around returning his attention to Meg who was rolling her eyes.

"Sure, cause I'm so threatening." She grumbled.

"Look kid, I don't have any clue who you are. I don't know where I am. I don't know how I got here, and I don't know how to get home. So no, I don't trust you." The clone curtly replied. Meg looked at him with surprise. She then smiled at him softly.

"I think I know what's happened… and I may be able to help. It'll be long time, it'll be hard, but there are ways to get you home. You just need a little help." She said with a smile extending a hand. "I'm Megan, but call me Meg. You're in the Antros system, third planet.

Let me tell you now, you ended up in the best place possible."


	8. To Find is to Lose

**A/N: Hi :) Got a new chapter up quicker than I thought! I'll TRY updating something up soon. Emphasise on the TRY :( I hope your not angry with me...**

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><p><strong>To Find is to Lose<strong>

Obi-wan gave a groan before opening his eyes. He was under a warm soft blanket in a very nice bed. It all would've been wonderful if he hadn't have been sore on every inch of his body. He looked around the room trying to get a look at where he was. He was in a

fairly nice room, I nice carpet, pictures on the wall, it even had a genuine fireplace that had a happy little fire crackling in it. He gave another groan as he attempted to get up, but failing rested his head against the soft pillow.

"Master?" a soft voice questioned from the door. Obi-wan looked over at the door to see Ahsoka looking in tentatively.

"Its alright, I'm up." He responded with a smile. Ahsoka smiled walking in.

"You alright master?"

"A bit sore but I'll be alright." He replied before continuing "Where are we?" the smile disappeared from Ahsokas' lips.

"Far, very far from home." She said sadly sitting down in a chair by his bed.

"What do you mean?" he asked lifting his home.

"Somehow when the ship took off, it took us with it. Now, where somewhere, light years from home. The good news is, we're in a system that gets people like us often…" she paused "Do you think we'll find my master?" there was a pause.

"We'll find him, there will be plenty of time while we try to find a way home…" Ahsoka smiled.

"I know." She said with a nod.

"Um… I know we're lost but…"

"We're in the Antros system, I don't know where that's at… at a local farm. OH YEAH, you hungry." She said looking over at him. The question causing Obi-wan to actually realize how hungry he was.

"That would be appreciated…" Ahsoka rolled her eyes.

"I'll go see if anything's ready." She said getting up and exiting. Obi-wan sighed looking around the room once more before allowing his head to drop on the pillow. There was nothing to do in the room, who knew when he would get something to eat, and he was

doggedly tired. He closed his eyes and sleep followed closely afterwards.


	9. The Core

**A/N: Sorry! D; I HAVE NO EXCUSES! PLS FORGIVE ME! I worked hard on this chapter and plan to start working on the next one. This one starts getting into whats going on :D YAY MY FIRST STAR WARS FIC IS TAKING OFF :D SO **

**MUCH EXCITEMENT! I can't wait! So many ideas and now they are really gonna get writen down ^^ R&R PLS!**

**THANK YOU NOTES:**

**Thanks to everyone who is reading this ^^ and those who are sticking with me even though its a rough start!**

**Thanks to WaNderiNgDoVe, tarooso, and Rexter117 for reviewing!**

**Thanks to MortisBane for favoriting and alerting!**

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><p><strong>The Core<strong>

"The Core?" questioned Cody.

"Yes it's a group that's looking to take over every system out there. Until now, your little galaxy never caught anyone's eye. You were one amongst billions. It wasn't till you came out of it that Core took you as a threat. You don't know how lucky you are that

you ended up here, in one of the few free systems, rather than one that's been taken by The Core." Explained Meg with a look of solemnity. They had gone to Meg's house, which was apparently centered in the middle of a large farm. Luckily it hadn't been far

because Obi-wan probably wouldn't have made it. So far it looked like they were in for the long haul.

"What do you mean that we were 'one among billions?'?" Ahsoka asked, wondering just how big this situation was.

"Your galaxy was basically fairly normal for your era of technology. Your not to unique, most of the galaxies at your stage are at war in some way or another, though you do seem to have more of knack of getting yourselves into trouble. Chyronic travel is new,

I don't know much about how it works except that, unlike hyper-drive it doesn't just warp space time, it rips it. It has a lot of horrible side effects, which is why its illegal basically everywhere. Core, however, uses it freely." Meg finished as everyone realized

what had really occurred.

"We were target practice." The words seemed to echo through the room with dark intent. A tense silence followed the heavy thought. Ahsoka had been quiet this whole time, staring at the table sadly, she now broke the silence with yet another hard

question.

"Wheres my master?" Meg sighed closing her eyes.

"I… I don't know… They might've taken him anywhere. They have a lot of bases scattered throughout the galaxy. The fight against Core is pretty much constant so the ship he was on may be in a free system. There is no way to tell except look." Ahsoka

scowled.

"Then we have to find him." She yelled determined not to waste anymore time.

"Yes, but we need to get off the planet first. Luckily I know someone who could get us a ship." Meg was cut off by the timer above the stove going off. After a pause to get people situated Ahsoka left to take some to Obi-wan leaving the clones and Meg to

themselves.

"What do you mean us?" Cody asked eyeing Meg, not quite trusting her.

"You don't know anything about this galaxy, you'd probably get lost without a guide, so I'm going to come with you. Why? Do you have a problem with it?" Meg asked, not liking Cody all that much either.

"Not at all."


	10. The Glass Half Empty

**A/N: Yay :D Wasn't guilt inducingly late this time :D Hope you enjoy the chap, it introduces my OC Clone troopers. O3O R&R I need to know how I did with them.**

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><p><strong>The Glass Half Empty<strong>

The rest of dinner was quiet. Other than plans for leaving being made, no one said much of anything. There wasn't very much to say. After dinner everyone went about their own business staying out of each others way. Cody hadn't gotten time to really talk with the rookies and after helping Meg and Ahsoka with preparations, went over to where they were sitting outside.

"Sir!" the rookies immediately snapped to attention.

"At ease. As you know I'm Cody, but you will call me commander or sir. I know things have been under… unusual circumstances so far but we'll be here for a while so I think it would be best if I at least knew your names." A clone with red and black hair got up almost immediately.

"Tiger, sir!" he was the one Cody remembered as being the stubborn one of most of the arguments on the way to Tatooine.

"Lucky sir!" Lucky was a bit hyper… he'd have to keep an on him.

"Sir, Kodak, sir." He seemed almost formal.

"EDGE SIR." Definitely wound tight.

"Colson sir." He straightened a bit but wasn't quite as enthusiastic as his brothers.

"C-Coy… sir…" Cody could see he was scared to talk.

"Jaser sir." Jaser added a nod of respect before sitting back down.

"Laszlo sir." He said standing up and stayed at attention even after he stated his name

"Desh, sir!"

"Kadaj sir!"

"Gryphon sir." Cody looked to the trooper in the back. He didn't even try to stand or introduce and no one else moved to say anything for him. He sat hunched over in a more defensive position staring at the ground.

"And you trooper." Cody asked in tone that said it was more than a suggestion.

"Knight, sir." Knight didn't even bother looking up.

"Alright. As I said, we are under unusual circumstances. If we're to get home we need to work together. I need to know you're with me." Cody said looking over the rookies.

"Sir, yes sir!" they responded in unison. Cody smiled.

"Good. If anything is needed, I'll be inside." After Cody had gone inside Knight huffed, slumping lower than before.

"Well, that was pointless." He growled making no attempt to hide his irritation.

"What do you mean?" Lucky gasped, shocked by Knights attitude.

"Really? Are you serious? I'm honored that the commander reached out like that. What's wrong with you?" Jaser snapped, once again sick of Knight.

"I just don't see the point. We're stuck here one way or the other. Why on earth dress it up?" he grumbled, apparently set on being pessimistic.

"Well, I think it was good of him. Besides, seems to me we're had pretty good luck so far! I mean really, we're on a beautiful planet, with good people, we've got a guide, and soon we're going to look for our brothers who could be ok!" Piped Desh, who was in his usual optimistic mood.

"Or being tortured by a hated group of blood thirsty, power hungry psychos." Snapped Knight stubbornly.

"Pessimistic creep…" grumbled Kadaj.

"No. unlike the rest of you, I'm realistic. So, instead of what's living in a fantasy, I except the truth and deal with it." Knight snarled angrily.

"Enough! I know everyone is tense because of what's happened but that's no reason to argue. In fact it's the reason why we need to work together. OK?" Tiger looked around, no one moved to challenge him so he sat back down with a sigh.

"I still don't see the point…" Knight grumbled as he got up, leaving with a scowl.

"That's right, get in the last word…" Kadaj grumbled. Tiger sighed. Why couldn't they just get it together?


	11. Dark Disturbances

**A/N: This is one of the longer chapters I've done :/ and one of the darker ones too... Rexs situation is revealed... DUNDUNDUN R&R Pls :3 cliffhangerz...**

**WARNING!: THIS CHAPTER IS RATED T FOR THE FOLLOWING: TORTURE AND DARK THEMES. READER DISCREATION ADVISED. THIS FIC IS T FOR A REASON!**

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><p><strong>Dark Disturbance<strong>

Rex's eyes widened at the scene around his mind still reeling. The cold bloodstained steel walls, the screams so

clear coming from three rooms down, the men in black cloaks like Sith grinning and laughing at him from under

dark hoods. He was in living Hell, but they hadn't broken yet. No, they wouldn't break him, his men still needed.

Rex had spent the first week in shock, after he had recovered, he had helped Sk-skywalker? Back up again. Not

that he would ever truly recover, no one there ever would, so many of them were to far gone. But not him, no, he

swore he wouldn't be broken. Rex pulled himself to his knees, blood dripping from, well, everywhere, and shot a

glare of hatred at the Core soldier, commander Indra who grinned manically at him, obviously not all there. Then

again, most people here weren't.

"I won't join you. You. Can't. Break me!" he yelled for the tenth time in the last hour.

"Oh, you've broken yourself." The deep voice drawled.

"SHUT UP!"

"So defiant… hehehe… not for long. Again." He commanded so casually. Again Rex screamed as he felt pain shoot

through his side. More blood splattered the floor. One thing Rex had learned in The Core, they didn't used electric

based torture; they used the ancient technique involving unclean sharp metallic objects against bare skin, not

enough force was used to kill him, but enough was used to put him in horrible pain. It was something new

everyday, all of it, painful, little by little chipping everything he had away from him. Even so, he would _never_ be

broken by the likes of Core. He snarled looking the soldier in the eye again. This caused the deranged commander

to chuckle.

"Ha-ha, you _are_ a tough one aren't you? Physical torture just isn't enough. We've hurt your brothers, your half

gone general, and we're in the process of taking as much from you as we can. You're bloody every minute of the

day, you're sicker than most people here, and you're near death every moment you're alive. All of it would stop

through your own choice in a second if you would just tell us everything about your galaxy you can think of. Even

just system names and what state it's in. It doesn't matter. Either that or you could join our ranks." Indra let out

a laugh. "I've never in all my time here seen anyone so stubborn. Its-its comical how intent you are in torturing

yourself in the name of loyalty, steadfastness, and a vague hope that a group of twelve rookies, a commander,

two _little_ girls, and one horribly injured old man who can commune The Presence might find you someday. What if

they do? What can they do with so few people? Even if they find others to help them, ours is the greatest army

there is. They will _never _stand a chance. Even if they did, you can't go back to-" Rex screamed to block out what

he was saying, the soldier laughed harder than ever, falling to the floor with laughter.

"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!" Rex couldn't stop screaming. Indra, after recovering from laughter, sat

there watching him blankly until Rex was hoarse to the point where he probably wouldn't be able to talk for the

next week.

"Now that you'll be silent for a while, you can't go back. You know that. You're to scarred, the little girl you care for

like a daughter, you'd frighten her if she saw you." Rex shook his head wearily and the soldier smiled once more.

"You've helped us too, worked for us. Or do you remember the battles, the raids. You did them so your brothers

wouldn't suffer, sure. Wonder what your brothers would've thought of that. All the innocence killed, and you

helped in that. By the way… thank you." Rex shook his head once more, a faint pained rasp coming from his raw

throat. The soldier motioned for Rex to be unbound, knowing he was too weak physically and emotionally to

move. He was immediately released. His hands hit the floor with a thud, his arms shaking under his own wait.

Indra grinned. "Oh! Your General! What would your General think?" Rex sobbed silently; any normal being

would've thought he'd gone into convulsions. "If you went back, you'd be court-martialed, and we both know

what that means." Rex shook harder. "Death." Rexs arms gave way. "In fact, if they knew all you'd done, HA,

they'd kill you on site." Rex began to retch. It was finally the last straw, things were finally just too much, and he

couldn't take it. "They would hate you."

He stopped there to allow Rex to break, to allow the pain to sink into his soul. He knew his prisoner wouldn't give

them information, ever, but he also knew he could easily get the most loyal soldier Core had had in all of it

hundreds of thousands of years in existence. All he had to do was break him. Rex's physical reaction to the,

mental, physical, and emotional pain was extremely violent. Now he truly was in convulsions, and throwing up

bile. Indra quietly watched it all go down hill with a smile. When Rex had become too exhausted to move Indra

laid a hand on his shoulder oh so tenderly.

"There's a way to avoid this all together. Never have to face them, no court martial, no fear, no pain as long as

you don't do something wrong, and you get to belong somewhere, you get to _belong_." Rex looked up at him with

emptied eyes. Obviously feeling that anything was better than Hell. He smiled gently rubbing Rexs scarred back.

"That's right, all of it goes away. Join us, wouldn't you? Wouldn't it be better than suffering? You won't be a

captain, but you'll at least _belong_." He said in a honey-sweet tone. Rex laid there in silence for a while, before

quietly nodding. Laughter was heard around him as Indra gingerly picked Rex up, as if he were china and would

break at any moment, like a parent picking up their child, and carried him with a phsychotic grin towards the next

room.

"Welcome to The Core captain. I'm sure you'll be here for quite the stay."

* * *

><p>Ahsoka jerked awake from the nightmare she'd had. She couldn't remember what had happened but knew it had<p>

been horrifying. She squirmed at what she sensed in the Force. It was cold, tangible, disturbing, and she could

feel it lingering just outside of her senses. She looked around the ship they were in, they had left for Kadesh,

Anthros's capital, that morning and having spent most of the night helping Kadaj get Obi-wan ready she hadn't

slept much. She had decided to try to sleep on the way and… well, you know how that turned out. Obi-wan

looked over at her with sympathy.

"Don't worry, I sense it too." He said softly.

"Master… what is it? Why does part of it seem familiar… you don't think Master Skywalker-"

"No, I don't. it's alright Ahsoka, I'm sure they're alright. As for this Darkness… I don't know what it is, nor do I like

what I sense from it. I'm sure we'll be stronger before it comes anywhere near us." He said attempting to

reassure her, though he himself wasn't quite sure himself.

"You're right master. Thanks." She smiled at him, a bit less frightened. Obi-wan nodded, trying to think of

something for the girl to do. He then brightened having thought of it. "Ahsoka, why don't you go up front and ask

Kadaj if he has anything more for my leg. Its still sore." Which was true, not quite enough for him to need

anything, but Ahsoka was obviously wanting to move around and it was a good excuse. Ahsoka smiled and

hopped up, immediately on it. "Alright master, I'll ask him." She said, throwing the words over her shoulder as she

left. Obi-wan sighed. What was this dark force he sensed… and how close was it really?


	12. Where to Next?

**A/N: :D Yay :D New chapter :) This is some mainly info on what will happen next and I introduce a few more OCs... more set up... BUT ITS THE LAST CHAPTER OF SET UP X3 SO EXCITED TO GET TO THE MAIN FIC XDDDDDDDDDDD YAYZ :D R&R PLZ!**

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><p><strong>Where To Next<strong>

After having gotten over the initial shock of the enormity of the city, Ahsoka quickly got bored. She had seen most of the exciting parts and was now left, sitting in Megs ship, bored out of her mind, waiting for her and Cody to get back with the ship and

several of Megs 'contacts' who could supposedly help them. Obi-wan had gone with Ahsoka and, after getting fully treated, had helped bring back the needed supplies. He was now outside having a much needed walk to stretch out his stiff limbs. Ahsoka

sighed looking outside of the ship. The planet had a good name. Kadesh, it was Neko… whatever that was, for glistening. It certainly did glisten as the sun set behind the huge white towers that made up most the city. As she looked out, she heard the tell

tale beep of a transmission coming in. she sighed turning around and pressing a button.

"Is that you Cody?"

"Yes sir. Megan and I are back with the ship, and several of Megan's… 'contacts'." Ahsoka sighed hearing the hint of disbelief in Cody's voice at the word 'contacts'. He still wasn't getting along with Meg.

"Alright, contact me once you hit the surface, I'll be waiting."

"Copy that sir." Ahsoka smiled. Finally, they'd be off. She would finally be off to save the others. She suddenly paused. She'd said that before… but never like this.

After several minutes, Cody called again to say they had arrived, accidently surprising Ahsoka, who had fallen asleep. She quickly replied before hurrying outside to stand by Obi-wan while the ship landed. It was a medium sized black ship that had a shape

similar to a J-type 327 Nubian. When it landed, Cody and Meg came out along with three other people. One was a tough looking black haired man wearing a standard engineers uniform, the girl behind him was Ahsokas age. She had silver hair and wore a

green tank top, tan shorts, and had a sort of backpack hanging from one arm. The third was a girl, same age as the other, with dark skin and black hair, who wore average civilian clothes. Ahsoka ran up to them smiling, followed more slowly by Obi-wan.

"This is our ship?" Meg chuckled.

"Yep. She'sReno's." She said motioning to the black haired man. "And that's Yukie and Serena there if you were wondering." Pointing first to the silver haired girl and then to the black haired girl.

"Nice to meet you guys. So you guys got everything ready? We got the supplies." Meg nodded with a smile.

"Everything's ready. We can go anytime. Well… as soon as we get the supplies on, but that shouldn't take long." Ahsoka nodded.

"Me and the boys will get right on it." Ahsoka said with a smile. Meg nodded.

"Sounds good. We'll prep the ship. When you guys get on we'll figure out where to go next." Obi- wan smirked.

"Since Ahsoka has already eagerly volunteered to transfer supplies I'll help you with the ship." Meg nodded.

"Sounds good." She said as she and Obi-wan walked with the three newcomers to the ship. Ahsoka joined Cody and the men who were already over at the old ship getting supplies. They then spent the next few minutes getting everything on to the other

ship. When everything was packed and everyone settled, they headed into orbit. Ahsoka huffed, not sure if she was excited or anxious. She turned to Meg with an excited look on her face.

"So what are some close systems."

"Well there are two free systems and five systems that have been decimated by The Core that they still visit and control. Only one of the dead worlds, (that's what we call Core controlled planets), has a Core base. It's a minor base, but still occupied." Meg

added the last part with a serious .

"But not to worry. I made this ship my self. I can guarantee you that she'll beat any enemy ships we run into. Got some good blasters and swords too." Ahsoka gave him a questioning look.

"Ummm… swords?" Meg nodded.

"We've gotten advanced enough in our technology that we've basically have counters for most every weapon out there except for the Kiro drive. Blasters, rifles, even tanks are all pretty much obsolete. We use whatever we find pretty much to battle Sword is

just as effective as anything else at this point since it can easily deflect, or absorb blaster fire depending on what you have." Meg stated all this just as casually as if she had said what time it was. Ahsoka looked at her with surprise.

"What about a lightsaber?"

"Sword can deflect it easy." Ahsoka looked at the floor with a dumbfounded look. There was such a place where technology had gone so far as too make a lightsaber into a sword, a deflector shield into a regular shield, and a blaster to a gun. That would

definitely take getting used to.

"So where we heading?"

"The planet with the Core base. Anikan might have been taken there when he was captured." Meg nodded.

"The place is calledMegiddo. It was a cess-pool of crime even before Core got there. In fact they were kind of asking to be invaded considering they had next to no weapons and a bad attitude. Gonna need to keep our eyes peeled there, the inhabitants have

become twice as vicious since Core took over."

"We can handle them." Ahsoka said determinedly.

"I hope she is right." Serena murmured quietly. Obi- wan nodded.

"Indeed…. Serena is your name correct?"

"Yes. I'm a medic. I know a lot about the different medicines and plants in our galaxy." Obi-wan nodded.

"Ah, and Yukie is…"

"Well trained in combat, recon, and she knows most of this galaxy like the back of her hand, like Megan, only without a sense of direction." Obi-wan smiled.

"And I already knowRenois an engineer and weapons expert of sorts, correct." Serena smiled.

"Yes, he's a good pilot too." Obi-wan nodded thoughtfully and looked over to Yukie.

"Yukie, is there anything more you can tell me aboutMegiddo?"

"Not really much to say other than its one heck of a creepy place to be. The inhabitants are human and not much nicer than the surroundings let on to be. Not many animals. Whole lot of fish though." Obi-wan raised a brow.

"Have you been there before?"

"Yep, and I had hoped there would be no return trip too." She grumbled, obviously unhappy to be going. Obi-wan gave a soft "hmmm" of concern, hoping this wasn't as bad of an idea as it was now starting to look.


	13. The Base

**A/N: :D First none set up chapter! Yay! :( Not to sure about this one... What do you guys think? R&R Pls :)**

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><p><strong>The Base<strong>

Ahsoka looked around the dark planet. They had fought off the aerial attacks fairly easily. Not surprising since it had been only a few small ships, not the giant cruisers like the ones that had carried everyone off. The planet was one big, dark forest with a few

swamps mixed in here and there. It wasn't too hard to find the base, even if it was a mess. After Ahsoka mentioned it Meg explained.

"The Core doesn't care enough to expend its resources to take care of its small time bases or individual men. If its army is good enough to conquer major threats, they don't care if it has messy bases. It relies on it huge size, the fear it has instilled, and the

power its highest members has. This is how a lot of Core bases look. Well, except the major ones."

"Oh joy…"

"Don't worry, we can take them." And with that they worked on getting in. It only took one kick to the door to open it. Inside there was no one there… that could be seen. Walking through the obscure darkness, tension was felt in the air. The shadows

seemed to move in an almost human way. After having gone down several corridors, Ahsoka began to wonder if anyone was home. As she peeked around the next corridor she saw it. A tall figure dressed in black. His hood was pulled over his face and a

broad sword was held in his hand. She could sense the darkness in him, not force wise but simply pure darkness. She turned back to the others taking a deep breath.

"There's someone over there, dressed in black. Couldn't see his face, he had a hooded cloak on." Yukie nodded.

"Core." Ahsoka nodded back.

"We'll go around and surprise him… hopefully." Everyone waited a moment to see if any sound was made by him. After a moment of silence, they charged out into the hallway where the soldier hadn't moved from his spot. As the clones fired he lifted his

sword, deflecting the shots. Ahsoka ran forward and began her own attacks. Yukie fought using a blaster similar to a DC-15. With the combined attacks the single soldier was quickly defeated. Ahsoka scowled in confusion.

"Why would they only have one person here? Did they abandon this place?"

"No… Core never gives up this easily. They probably haven't checked on this place in while. It's not a main base so it's probably simply been forgotten." Ahsoka nodded.

"That makes sense."

"Right. There might be left over prisoners or maybe even some of your guys here." With that they continued deeper into the base. For a while they didn't see anyone. Finally they got to what looked like a control center. Everything was still working… well,

barely. Ahsoka looked at one of the corners and saw a small figure huddled, pressed against the wall. It looked like it was trying to hide inside of the wall or become part of it or something along those ridiculous lines. Cody came over noticing her

concentration.

"What is it sir?" he then saw the figure. Ahsoka moved over to where it was sitting and saw it was a man, his features where hard to tell in the darkness but even so it was easy to tell he wasn't doing well at this point. Ahsoka reached out a hand to him.

"Easy, it's alright." The figure didn't move. "You don't have to be scared. No one's going to hurt you." Still nothing. She moved to get closer and he dashed out of the room, Ahsoka on his heels, she could her someone following them and assumed it was Cody.

She followed the figure to a dead end. Their was one flickering damp dim light that attempted to make a desperate cling to life on the ceiling that allowed Ahsoka to get a better look at the being. She gasped as she looked at him. It was a clone. It was

obvious he had gone through horrible things. He was in rags and obviously fearful. Ahsoka kneeled down next to him, saddened by the sight. He continued to stare at her his face blank with fear. She shook her head looking back to see Cody standing there

with his helmet on. Looking at them both he walked over to the shivering clone. Ahsoka could sense Cody was mad. Mad at what had happened. At The Core for what they had done. What they were still doing. He took off his helmet kneeling next to Ahsoka

so his frightened brother could see him. He held his hand out to the shivering clone.

"Easy, we're not one of them." He said trying to remain as neutral as possible. The clone shifted towards him, still a tad unsure.

"You're alright. Come on, we're working on taking care of them." Ahsoka added gently. The clone crawled shakily out of his corner, whimpering. Cody placed a hand on his shoulder and the clone sobbed quietly. Ahsoka sighed.

"Come on… lets get him out of here." Cody nodded, the darkness making his expression unreadable.

When they managed to get him back they found out the others had searched the place and found twelve other prisoners. Only four were clones including the one they'd found. Once they got several things straightened out, Obi-wan walked over to the group

of formerly imprisoned clones.

"Where were you brought from?" he asked softly. The one Ahsoka and Cody had found spoke up.

"The Resolute. With General Skywalker sir." He mumbled quickly. Obi-wan nodded giving off a little "hum".

"As I thought…" He looked back up at the refugees. "Don't worry you'll be staying with us here on out. We're taking you away from here." Those that didn't cry with relief seemed ready to. When he rejoined them Ahsoka looked up at him with hope but Obi-

wan shook his head.

"Rex wasn't there… nor was Anikan." Ahsoka face fell as she sighed. She turned to Megan.

"Is there anywhere else we can look?"

"… Other planet?" Ahsoka sighed Obi-wan put a hand on here shoulder.

"We'll find him." Ahsoka sighed. She knew they'd find him deep down … but when?


	14. Chance

**A/N: Sorry for the wait :/ Gah why can't I be good with schedules... ANYWAYZ I go more into my OC's this chap and into the new clone thats popped up. :D Hope you enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chance<strong>

Desh sighed swinging his legs and looking at Ahsoka. She was having more progress talking to the non-clone prisoners. He looked back down on the few brothers they had found out of how many hundreds? All of them had next to no personality. He huffed

trying to think of another question.

"So… um… no name… all alone… do you know your number?"

"CT-549-4499."

"Hmmm… HEY LUCKY!" He yelled over his shoulder to his brother who immediately ran over.

"What's up?"

"Trying to help out one of the prisoners."

"…And?"

"He's all alone. Doesn't even have a name."

"Huh… well he seems lucky enough he got a second chance."

"Yeah… so Chance?" the two looked down at the trooper who immediately averted his eyes to the floor.

"Ummm… Yeah… sure…" He mumbled neutrally. Lucky blinked.

"Do you like it?"

"Sure…" suddenly Knight, who had been standing on the other side of the room listening laughed causing Desh and Lucky to whip around while CT-549 full body flinched forcing himself to make a feeble attempt to calm down. Knight grinned at the three

troopers thinking of as many "comments" as he could.

"The question is… can he give a straight answer. I don't think he can." He walked over to the trembling trooper smirking. "Can you… Chance?" Chance refused to look at him. Knight smiled even more while Desh and Lucky were frozen, too sickened to react.

Knight leaned down so he was on Chances level.

"You didn't answer me…" Chance was beginning to hyperventilate.

"Back off!" Desh yelled. "You've been a jerk before but now you're going too far!"

"I was asking _him_ a question. This has nothing to do with _you_." He replied stingily.

"It does when you act like that." Colson said joining in knowing what Knight could be like. Knight shrugged walking away with a scowl realizing he wasn't going to milk anything else from this situation.

Desh turned walking back to the trooper who was apparently now called Chance staring at the floor with a wistful look.

"Umm that's Knight. Sorry about him… He's pretty much like that 24/7. To everyone." He looked up to see Chance shaking and sat down next to him.

"You okay?" Chance nodded his head quickly. Lucky cocked his head.

"Why are you so afraid of _us_?" Chance bit his lip. Before Desh, Lucky and Colson could ask anything else Ahsoka came in with an announcement.

"We're almost at the next planet. Get ready to land!"

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><p><strong>Thank you notes:<strong>

_Thanks to xpig-in-the-skyx, queen of games, and Shannon reviewing!_

_Thanks to Dmonheart and clonewarsluvr44 for favoriting!_

_Thanks to starwarsfan121212 for favoriting, alerting, and reviewing!_

_Thanks to everyone who reads this for and staying with me no matter what!_


	15. Gladiator

**A/N:** I had a lot of trouble getting another chapter. Sorry I'm doing so poorly but the conditions for writing at the moment are very poor. I'll try doing another chapter

but I don't know when it'll be up. One thing is for sure though, I will not abandon this fic. I'm sorry to make you wait but its what I can do. Yep, I'm torturing another

poor clone -.- I know XD But yeah its Fives. Even I can't help wonder what'll happen to him...

R&R please.

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><p><strong>Gladiator<strong>

Fives shivered, shuffling along with several other prisoners. He didn't know what was going on, or where he was heading, all he knew was he'd finally been taken from

his brothers. He remembered that the last guy it that had happened to, had come back and despite all efforts, died. He shuddered.

_Rex never came back at all._ He shivered hoping Rex was still alive. He continued with the others till they came to an open room. There were several non-Core men there

and two lines of prisoners. The Core officers and strangers talked while the prisoners were put into two lines. The new comers were shoved roughly into one line or the

other. Fives was pushed between another human and a brutish looking alien. Fives searched for someone familiar but came up empty. After awhile one of the men

began to hunt through the rows, taking one or of the stronger looking guys out. The human, a male, beside Fives glanced at him before whispering.

"They're gonna sell us…" Fives eyes widened.

"To who!" Fives managed before a soldier him in the gut.

"Shut it." He then pulled Fives up and threw him back in line.

"You're new." The man next to Fives more stated than asked, staying quiet and wearing a wistful, but kind, look. Fives replied with a quick nod.

"About our question… I wish I knew. Sorry kid." Fives stared at the floor. Had Rex been sold?

One by one they went through till one line was left. Only two would be taken. Fives bit his lip.

_I can't leave the men._ Not that he had a say in the matter, but he desperately hoped he was passed up. The man how was looking now was human. He had white hair,

dark eyes and tan skin. He looked over them with alert eye and paused looking at Fives, surveying the clone like he was looking at livestock.

"Well, this one looks like a fighter." A soldier walked up nodding.

"Yup, he's a soldier. From what I hear an elite one too." Fives mentally cursed.

_Come on_, he thought to himself,_ theres a guy twice my size right next to me._

"Done! I'll take him and the brute." He thumbed at the tall alien. He was three heads taller than the clone. A amphibian with six arms, spikes on his back and four eyes. Fives shook.

_What have I gotten into._

"Whats your name son?" the man asked.

"F-Fives, sir." The clone replied nervously.

"Well, Fives, welcome to the world of gladiatory." He said blatantly, for no purpose except a quick intro and to put fear into him, Fives swallowed hard looking between

his new master and his fellow slave.

_Yeah, if he doesn't kill me first._

* * *

><p><em>Thanks to starwarslover for reviewing.<em>

_Thanks to Annabel Willow _for favoriting and following!__

_Thanks to _ACEamazombie and __Anisoka280 _ for favoriting, alerting, and reviewing!___

_Thanks to_ everyone who reads this for and staying with me no matter what!__


	16. Carlin

**A/N: I had a lot of trouble with this chapter. 1.) I didn't know what to do with Anikan, I was kind of saving him for the end. 2.) If I was gonna write him... it was **

**gonna be a cliff-hanger. 3.) Lists should be at least three points long. Not sure what I'll do next.**

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><p><strong>Carlin<strong>

Anikan leaned against the wall. Everyone was being kept hungry, everyone was being kept in a dark and filthy dungeon, they were being tortured endlessly, all of

them were sick, injured, dying. All of them, except him. He knew it was on purpose. They'd said so. The men being kept on the edge of death, to egg him on, either to

breaking or joining or whatever on earth it was they had in mind. And it was getting harder to resist, he'd lost the ability to sleep fairly quickly, then the ability to eat.

The men wouldn't want him to do it, but being taken to watch, being shown it everyday, feeling it _everywhere_ around him in the force for three months straight… how

could he live quietly and comfortably while this happened? How could he let them do this in the first place? Dread filled him as he heard footsteps approach his room

again. He closed his eyes and came to a decision. They came in roughly pulling him up and that felt oddly good under the circumstances. They lead him up the same

filthy stinking halls, up the same horrible scream-filled paths, but this time took an unexpected turn a little over half way through. Anikan scowled. He didn't trust them

and therefore didn't trust the new development. They lead him down new paths and they were strangely…

Cleaner.

Anikans brow went up but his eyes stayed narrow. They lead him away from the outer parts of the ship. Not caring much for lives in general they kept prisoners near

the outer hull and soldiers' barracks a little beyond that. The ships were made large and powerful, like dragons with hard outer hulls which took billions of tons of fire to

get past; all that effort would be wasted on prisoners that the enemy would most likely want alive. If you wanted to really actually _do_ damage? A long weary walk to

the middle of a very large ship. Wanted to damage soldiers that held importance? Walk or bring lots of powerful weaponry that would kill POW's, which ever you want.

Leading him into deeper parts of the ship meant either someone important wanted him kept nice and safe or someone important wanted to bribe him into an important

position. _Abso-freaking-lutely lovely. _

After what felt like several hours walk, they finally made it to an elevator. A Force blessed heated comfortable elevator. Even the soldiers seemed a little happier, and

they very well may have been. Anikan didn't know. He was busy sitting down in a comfy elevator. Thankfully for all of them it was a long ride and dropped them close to

their destination. It was a shock. Most Core prisons are dark, dank, stench-filled places where nothing is in good condition and no one is taken care of. Whatever falls

to the floor stay there: objects, weapons, dead stray animals, food, water, blood, people; all lost to its murky depths. It is the lowest place anything can be, even the

job is considered horrible among the soldiers since it isn't a rare thing for workers to become lost in them, turning into one of the prisoners with no one ever finding

them or even knowing they were there. Anikan, being a general, had been given something just the tiniest tad below what the Separatist would consider a fitting hold

and what was considered comfort level by Core standards. This is what made it such a shock to walk into shiny white corridors with happy yellow lighting bouncing

around the hall. Not so many people were walking around and they were of opposite nature to the emaciated sickly figures shuffling around like they were already

dead in the prison or even the sad state of the low ranking officer barracks. These were hulking brutes and frightening military men who looked cruelly, calculatingly

forward never moving aside from what they did only ever glancing at them when they stood near enough to be considered annoying. Anikan looked at his escorts and

it was wholly apparent they'd never been here either. It didn't take long before they were sitting on a couch waiting for whatever their name was to get done with that

thing the lady said they were doing so they could do the thing…

It was oddly familiar and Anikan felt more like he'd gotten in trouble with the council than like he was going to see some frightening enemy high officer. Even the

soldiers felt like rookies as they wandered around unable to keep from gaping and for the first time Anikan looked at them. He immediately regretted it. One was an

emaciated sixteen year old who looked strangely small for his age, the other was just a little older, but was also skinnier and he was far more sickly. Anikan didn't dare

learn their names. A light above the door next to them went green and apparently that was a signal that they could go in. He walked in, the boys standing guard

outside, and was greeted by a very pretty woman in a white dress. She had blonde hair and blue eyes. Her skin was pale and she wore a happy smile on her full red

lips.

"Hi, I'm Carlin. I take it you're Anikan Skywalker?" She was friendly. Too friendly. Anikan simply glared at her. He reached for the Force, both to calm himself and sense

her intentions. What he felt from her only confused him. It was genuine friendliness. He considered all possibilities that came to him. _Sociopathic leader? Innocent _

_b__ureaucrat__? Force user?_ Nothing seemed to click. She frowned softly at him.

"Something wrong?" Anikan gave a derisive snort. She pouted. "Hey! I'm just a messenger," _Yeah right. _"You can't blame me for my job." _You wanna bet that _

_sweetheart? _He sighed. _I guess I should find out what they want. Then I can get to fighting it._

"Just tell me why I'm here." He snapped. He wasn't in the mood for this and he didn't care if she was some daughter of some innocent self absorbed bureaucrat. _She _

was one of _them_, and that made her the enemy.

"To give you… Options." _That's not good,_ the warning bells in his head screamed.

"…Options?" He said it as if it were poisonous.

"A few… compromises…"

"No." She smiled ever softly, a compassionate light in her distracting blue eyes.

"It's something to help _everyone_. You'll get nothing but good out of it. You're men are suffering, I know. All of these options would help them." Her smile quirked up and

she tilted her head in a way that bordered flirtatiousness. "And some of them will help you too." She sounded so reasonable. Sound so helpful and kind. It only made

him glare even harder. Only made him angrier.

"I don't care."

"About our options or your men. We find them _intermingled _at the moment." Her voice now had the tiniest edge to it. That made Anikan smile.

"How?" Anikan made a huff that was very near a laugh. _It's not like you can make it worse._

"Do you know where your captain is?" Her voice was barely a whisper. Anikan smiled no more.

"Where is he." It was not a question. It was a command.

"He joined us."

"Rex wouldn't do that!" Anikan heard something slam. He didn't realize till later it was his hands. He was too angry at the moment.

"I could prove it to you." She replied, her voice soft once more, but this time it was poisonously so. The poison didn't frighten him, the truth he sensed in her words did.

He slumped into his seat and desperately reached out to Rex, trying to ignore what the Force told him. He closed his eyes and what he felt; the betrayal, the pain, the

confusion, told him it was so. Anikans eyes shot back open. This changed things.

_If they did this to Rex, whats happened to the others? Are things even worse? Oh Force tell me no one came after me._

"So, Anikan Skywalker, would you like to hear your options?" Anikan ground his teeth, thinking it over, fighting a little longer. He sighed.

"This doesn't mean I'm agreeing." He growled bitterly. He was afraid it did. Carlin beamed.

"As you know, Core is just reaching out to galactic systems outside of its own. In any galaxy where there are significantly advanced interplanetary civilizations, a

certain amount of knowledge is held over the enemy, because at some point over the millennia, they weren't enemies. You yourself experience this in your own, yes?"

"Not always. I'm not giving you intel if that's where you're headed."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Even so I'll move to our next option, though this one is a tad more… complicated."

"Joyful."

"The Core can always use more leadership, the trouble finding people with the power and will to put fear into the masses that are our army. Our numbers are huge, its

how we've always gotten. We simply wash over the enemy. The problem is keeping those soldiers under enough confusion, enough pain and chaos that they don't get

ideas." Anikans face was hard, yet this time, there was no reply. Carlin smiled. _Progress._

"One of our leaders has noticed your close connection to The Presence. Do you know what I speak of?"

"The Force, I'm guessing." His voice was quiet. She nodded.

"They also have heard of your career as a general." He flinched. _Only Rex would know it enough._ "In fact, your profile quite intriguing." She waited to see if he had a

response. He didn't.

"Lastly, you can go back to the status quo. A life of relative comfort while your men are tortured, drafted and sold." She regarded him indifferently. "It's your choice." He

closed his eyes. It wasn't a choice at all.

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><p><em>Thanks to everyone whos read, faved, followed, andor reviewed!_


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